Latest news with #HouseRepublicans
Times of Oman
7 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Times of Oman
US House Republicans push to rename Kennedy Center Opera House after Melania Trump
Washington: The Kennedy Center's famed opera house could soon be renamed in honour of Melania Trump, as House Republicans advance an amendment seeking to designate it the "First Lady Melania Trump Opera House," The Hill reported. The House Appropriations Committee approved the proposal on Tuesday as part of the interior, environment, and related agencies annual spending bill. The panel voted 33-25 in favour of the amendment, which was one among several others under consideration, according to The Hill. The move comes months after US President Donald Trump overhauled the Kennedy Center's board and appointed himself as its chair, a break from tradition that drew criticism at the time. He had accused the performing arts institution of being too "woke," The Hill noted. The Hill also reported that both Trump and Melania attended a performance of Les Miserables at the Kennedy Center last month, despite having skipped the annual Kennedy Center Honors during his first term, another deviation from presidential norms. "Over the years, the Opera House has welcomed dozens of the world's great dance and opera companies and has hosted some of the most important artistic events of the last quarter century," the Kennedy Center states on its website. With more than 2,300 seats, the opera house is the second-largest theatre at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and frequently hosts its marquee performances, The Hill highlighted. Neither the Kennedy Center nor the office of the first lady immediately responded to requests for comment on the potential name change, The Hill said. It remains unclear when Republican leaders in the House intend to bring the amended legislation to a full chamber vote.
CBS News
8 hours ago
- Politics
- CBS News
House Republicans propose naming Kennedy Center's opera house after Melania Trump
House Republicans on Tuesday advanced a measure that would rename the Kennedy Center for the Arts' opera house after first lady Melania Trump — as President Trump and his allies boost their influence over the D.C. cultural institution. The proposed renaming was folded into an amendment to a bill that would set fiscal year 2026 funding levels for the Interior Department and several other federal agencies, including the Kennedy Center. The amendment — and the bill itself — were advanced by the House Appropriations Committee in a hearing Tuesday. The renaming was authored by Republican Rep. Mike Simpson of Idaho, who pointed to the first lady's role as honorary chair of the Kennedy Center board. The renaming was not requested by the Trump administration, Simpson's communications director Lexi Hamel told CBS News in an email. "Naming a theater after her is an excellent way to recognize her appreciation for the arts," Simpson, who chairs the Appropriations Committee's Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Subcommittee, wrote in a statement. The subcommittee's top Democrat, Rep. Chellie Pingree of Maine, criticized the renaming idea in Tuesday's hearing and said she was surprised to learn about it. "The Republicans snuck in, I think, something that's slightly divisive, which is renaming one section of the Kennedy Center after a family member of this administration," she said. CBS News has reached out to the White House for comment. The nameplate over the opera house — which seats nearly 2,400 people and is one of several spaces in the Kennedy Center — is unlikely to change any time soon. Spending bills like the one advanced Tuesday generally need 60 votes to pass the Senate, meaning even if it makes it through the full House intact, several Senate Democrats will need to vote for it. Lawmakers also have until the end of September to pass funding measures in order to avert the possibility of a potential partial government shutdown. But the idea follows a push by Mr. Trump to assert more control over the Kennedy Center. Weeks after retaking office, Mr. Trump removed some members of the cultural institution's board of trustees and stocked the board with a range of Trump allies — including Attorney General Pam Bondi and country singer Lee Greenwood. Mr. Trump now serves as chairman of the Kennedy Center board, and his ally Richard Grenell, who also serves as the White House envoy for special missions, is the center's president. The moves were partially intended to pivot the Kennedy Center away from what the president views as "woke culture," a source told CBS News earlier this year. Mr. Trump has publicly criticized some of the performances hosted by the center. "NO MORE DRAG SHOWS, OR OTHER ANTI-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA — ONLY THE BEST," he wrote on Truth Social in February. The moves have drawn criticism, with the producers of musical megahit "Hamilton" calling off a slate of performances next year due to what it called "a new spirit of partisanship." Last month, the president and first lady attended a performance of "Les Miserables" at the Kennedy Center, drawing a mixture of cheers and boos. Pingree criticized Republicans' handling of the Kennedy Center in Tuesday's hearing, arguing the party has given the president "carte blanche" over the cultural center. She pointed to the $256.7 million appropriated for the Kennedy Center over the next four years in the Trump-backed "big, beautiful bill" that passed earlier this month. Simpson responded Tuesday, "Let me see if I got this straight: So, we're upset that we didn't fund the arts, but we're upset that we did fund the arts?"
CNN
10 hours ago
- Politics
- CNN
House Republicans push to name Kennedy Center's opera house after Melania Trump
House Republicans want to name the John F. Kennedy Center's opera house after first lady Melania Trump. Republicans included language that would designate the opera house at the center for the performing arts in Washington, DC, as the 'First Lady Melania Trump Opera House' in an amendment for a spending bill for the Interior Department. It's unclear whether the bill will pass the full House, let alone whether it could make it into a bipartisan agreement with the Senate, so it remains an open question whether the provision could become law. The House is set to recess on Wednesday, leaving lawmakers with limited time when they return in September before the government runs out of funding. Before the deadline, lawmakers will either have to pass a series of full-year appropriations bills or a short-term funding extension – and whatever they pass to fund the government will need Democratic support in the Senate. Idaho GOP Rep. Mike Simpson, who introduced the amendment, said, 'Yes, we renamed the opera house at the Kennedy Center for the first lady, who is the honorary chairman of the board of trustees of the Kennedy Center,' during the House Appropriations Committee's Tuesday meeting on the bill. He argued that it's an 'excellent way to recognize' the first lady's 'support and commitment to promoting the arts.' The amendment was adopted by the committee, 35-22, with Democratic Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez joining with the panel's Republicans to vote yes. The first lady's office did not respond to CNN's request for comment. Earlier this year, the newly constituted board of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts elected President Donald Trump as its chairman. 'It is a Great Honor to be Chairman of The Kennedy Center, especially with this amazing Board of Trustees. We will make The Kennedy Center a very special and exciting place!' Trump said in a statement on his Truth Social platform at the time.
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Lawmakers vote to name Kennedy Center opera house after Melania Trump
WASHINGTON – House Republicans were singing from the same sheet music as the Trump administration July 22 when a key panel voted to name the Kennedy Center opera house after first lady Melania Trump. "This designation is an excellent way to recognize her support and commitment to promoting the arts," said Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, who shepherded the Appropriations Committee's spending bill that funds John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, opposed the change and alleged it's part of giving Trump power to run the Kennedy Center "with very little oversight" from Congress. More: Trump names a new head of the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in DC: himself President Donald Trump along with First Lady Melania Trump tour the Orion Capsule Room at the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Facility at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 27, 2020. "The Republicans snuck in, I think, something that is slightly divisive, which is renaming one section of the Kennedy Center after a family member of this administration,' Pingree said. The committee voted 33-25 to adopt the name change as part of a larger amendment. The full House and the Senate would still have to vote on the proposal approved by the Appropriations Committee as part of the spending bill for the interior, environment and other agencies. But the move reflected support from Republicans, who control both chambers of Congress. The theater would be named the "First Lady Melania Trump Opera House" if the legislations becomes law. Lawmakers have already agreed to spend $256.7 million on improvements to the Kennedy Center by 2029, as part of President Donald Trump's legislative priorities. The House subcommittee was voting on $37.2 million in routine annual funding for the center for the year starting Oct. 1. "The Republicans have now given the president six times the normal amount of money to run the Kennedy Center, carte blanche over who will be on the board, and how different parts of the Kennedy Center − or perhaps the whole Kennedy Center itself− will be named," Pingree said. Trump dismissed much of the Kennedy Center's board after he took office and designated himself chairman. He criticized drag performances and said after the cancelation of one theatre engagement that he "never liked 'Hamilton' very much." "We'll make it great again," Trump said during a tour in March. "I'm very disappointed when I look around. The bottom line: It has tremendous potential." This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: House panel votes to name Kennedy Center opera house for Melania Trump
Fox News
13 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Fox News
House Republicans approve renaming the Kennedy Center Opera House after Melania Trump
House Republicans are proposing to rename the Kennedy Center's Opera House after first lady Melania Trump. On Tuesday, House Republicans on the Appropriations Committee approved an amendment in a 33-25 vote on an annual spending bill that would rename the opera house at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts the "First Lady Melania Trump Opera House." Trump serves as the honorary chairman of the board of trustees at the Kennedy Center. "This is an excellent way to recognize her support and commitment to promoting the arts," said Rep. Michael Simpson-R-Id. Fox News Digital has reached out to The Kennedy Center and the White House. The move came months after President Trump appointed himself as chairman of the Kennedy Center and fired multiple board members. At the time, he said that he and then-chair David Rubenstein "do not share [the same] Vision for a Golden Age in Arts and Culture," according to the announcement on Truth Social. "Just last year, the Kennedy Center featured Drag Shows specifically targeting our youth — THIS WILL STOP," Trump wrote in the post. The opera house in the Kennedy Center is the second-largest theater in the center, with 2,347 seats. "Over the years, the Opera House has welcomed dozens of the world's great dance and opera companies and has hosted some of the most important artistic events of the last quarter-century," the center's website states. The opera house also serves as the site for the annual Kennedy Center Honors, the nation's highest award for lifetime achievement in the arts.
